ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens will post weaker-than-expected full year sales growth, Chief Financial Office Ralf Thomas said in an interview published on Friday, although profits will not be harmed and the dividend could rise.
“In terms of sales growth, the trend is not towards 4%, but towards 3%,” Thomas told German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung.
In its last results on Aug. 8, the German industrial group said it expected full-year comparable revenue growth of 4% to 8%, although it was likely to be at the lower end of the scale.
The company is due to report its full-year results on Nov. 14.
Thomas said profitiblity was “clearly at the level we announced.” Siemens previously said it was aiming for full year earnings per share in the range of 10.40 euros to 11.00 euros ($11.63 to $12.30).
The company would “probably” also increase its dividend, Thomas added.
($1 = 0.8940 euros)
(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Friederike Heine)